3-member gang kills driver, steals lorry

TIPUPUR: A lorry driver, who was reported missing along with the vehicle near Avinashi, was allegedly murdered by a three-member gang near Tiruchy recently.Police, who arrested one of the gang members on Wednesday, recovered the lorry. According to police sources, on December 9, lorry driver Rajesh Kanna (28), was returning to Tiruchengode via Avinashi after unloading sand at a construction site in Saravanampatti in Coimbatore district. While the loadman who accompanied him got down at Avinashi, the driver went missing along with the lorry worth Rs 5 lakh. As the owner, Kumar (38) of Sanarpalayam in Tiruchengode district, was not able to trace neither the lorry nor the driver even after a week, he lodged a complaint with the Avinashi police, who began investigation. In the meantime, police received information that the lorry was plying in Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam district. Immediately, a police team rushed to Vedaranyam and recovered the lorry. Investigations revealed that a three-member gang had sold the lorry for Rs 1.5 lakh. Police arrested Dhanasekaran (31), a resident of  Kattuputhur in Tiruchy district. The trio brought the driver Rakesh Kanna to Tiruchy, where they offered sand at a low rate and took him to the Cauvery river bed at Kattupudur. They murdered him and threw the body into the river, before fleeing. Police have launched a manhunt for the two other accomplices. 25 Sovereigns Looted A gang of dacoits made away with 25 sovereigns of jewels and Rs 17,000 from a house near the YWCA hostel in Hasthampatti at 9.30 pm on Wednesday.According to police sources, Rani Theodre, a head mistress in the Good Shepard Higher Secondary School, her nephew Winfred and her  mother were in the house when three men entered.Once inside, they threatened the occupants with knives and led them to the cupboards where the valuables were kept. After taking out all the valuables, they tied the occupants with ropes and fled. It was only the following morning, that Rani noticed a passer-by and shouted for help .The passer-by soon alerted the police. Police are investigating.